Dealing with transfer portal noise 'just reality' for Arizona's 'Bear Down Brotherhood'

Who's here? Who's not?

Those are the questions asked at the start of each Arizona spring football practice ever since the two-week transfer portal period kicked off last Monday evening. Then again, taking attendance could be pointless considering some players, like defensive back DJ Warnell, have entered the transfer portal but are still practicing with the team.

When former head coach Jedd Fisch left for Washington in January, Arizona survived the ensuing transfer portal period and kept most of its roster intact enough to still be considered a Top-20 team heading into its first season in the Big 12 and the new expanded 12-team format in the College Football Playoff. Now that another portal period has arrived since the hiring of Brent Brennan, "I don't think we're feeling tension," said the Arizona head coach.

"It's just reality," Brennan said. "So we're moving forward in the space that we're in, (while) trying to focus on what we're doing right now and not the impossibles, the eventual, the maybes, the ifs. What do we know? I know we have practice today and it's really important, and we need to get everything we can out of this opportunity. I think our team has done a great job with that."

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, who was one of several UA standouts to spurn the transfer portal and instead return for the 2024 season, said the Wildcats are “doing a good job just making sure this team is united." Fifita also understands “if people make their own decision, then that’s their decision and we respect it.” Sometimes, life-altering NIL checks from another program are too enticing to turn down, especially ones who are trying to provide for their family. 

"It's an individual decision. I think everyone on the team knows what we have here, the family atmosphere, everyone knows that they're valued here," Fifita said. "Everyone knows that we want them to stay, so I think we're getting that point across. That's all we can control."   

In addition to trying to keep players on the roster, the Wildcats are also hosting transfer portal prospects on visits, including former Oregon State star and All-Pac-12 running back Damien Martinez. 

College football's free agency is in full swing, and it's aligned with the back half of Arizona's spring practice schedule along with other teams across the country. It's madness, and for some fans, it could be a smidge frightening, like when standout cornerback Tacario Davis was sidelined for Tuesday's practice and arrived late. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster for UA fans.

The transfer portal in the spring is exciting, sure, but is the calendar ideal?

"First of all, I don't think they're going to ask for my opinion," Brennan said with a laugh. "I do think there's going to be conversation around, from every level of football, about how we can better structure the calendar. That's been a two-year conversation with the onset of the portal and all of these things. There's a couple things: I think it impacts the quality of life of everybody in college football, not just the players and not just the coaches, but everybody and every person in between, the support staff and some of that.

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"I don't know the best way forward, but there's going to be a lot of people talking about that over the next six months, because everyone is trying to find the best way to have a clean calendar and know exactly what we're doing, what time of year we're doing it, what the expectations are and how it's going to flow."

Building personal relationships with the players this spring is pertinent for the Arizona coaching staff even if there wasn't a transfer portal, which is a method Brennan learned from his mentor Dick Tomey as a graduate assistant. Brennan is finding "ways to build connection and do everything where we support each other, care about each other, but we're still trying to play great football and be as competitive as we can in the practice environment and on game day." 

"He was a big team-building guy," Brennan said of Tomey. "He's one of the guys who was the forefront of that, and that's always been a huge part of me. The more connected we are, the more committed we become."

Arizona offensive line coach Josh Oglesby added, "it's just part of what it is that we do."

"As important as the Xs and Os are, building a relationship with your players is just as important, so that they know you have their back no matter what," Oglesby said. "That's the approach I have in this profession, especially the room that I'm in. I think having played the position kinda gives me that little bit of insight as to how the room works. I don't think of it as a challenge at all. I look at it as it's part of what we do. To be honest with you, it's one of the more fun parts of the job, building a relationship with the guys so they know that you care about them, more than what they do on the field."

Brennan said Arizona's offensive line depth "is a little bit thin right now" due to injuries, transfers and players graduating. With 16 scholarship spots open, "you always have to replenish your ranks, because of natural attrition that happens in college football — players graduating," Oglesby said.

"The nature of this game is you always have to continue to build your roster, because you can't sign people to second contracts," Oglesby said. "Once their contract is up, they're gone. ... We are looking to add pieces for that. But as far as we have here, I'm super-excited about what is in our room right now. If you're asking do we have what we need to win, absolutely."

But there's no such thing as too much depth, and the Wildcats will continue to add depth and plug-in gaps on the roster in the days and weeks after the portal closes for new entries on April 30.   

For anyone looking to join Arizona from the transfer portal, "I think they're seeing a team that loves being together," Brennan said.

"I think this place is always going to be about development and it's going to be about being a part of something bigger than yourself, and if you want to do that, then you're going to love it here," Brennan said. "If it's all about you and all about the money, then you're probably not going to end up here — and that's OK. Football is the ultimate team sport that was ever created in my opinion, and you need people willing to be a part of a team and willing to bust their butt every day to give to the greater good or give to the brotherhood here. I think that's what you're going to get here.

"When you're around our players, when you're around our coaches, when you're around the whole city of Tucson, that's what you're going to feel. That 'Bear Down Brotherhood' is everywhere and you can feel it. That's a really special thing and we're going to fight to hold on to that every way we can."